Another quake hits West Sumatra

A magnitude 5 earthquake jolted West Sumatra early Friday morning, in the latest of a series of earthquakes that have hit the area this past week.

The moderate quake occurred at 5.51 a.m. local time and was felt in Siberut Island, off the coast of the provincial capital of Padang. However, it did not cause too much much panic amongst islanders, tempointeraktif.com reported.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported that the quake's epicenter was located 69 kilometers off Siberut, or 112 kilometers off Padang, at 10 kilometers below the seabed.

Quakes and aftershocks have struck West Sumatra and the towns surrounding Padang in two weeks that reflect dramatically heightened tectonic activity. A 4.8 magnitude tremor was experienced Thursday evening, and Aug. 16 saw a more marked 6.8 magnitude quake jolting the area. The aftershocks, on average, measure 5 on the Richter scale.